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Suzanne Ozment

Bio

Suzanne Ozment is an Associate with the People and Ecosystems Program at the World Resources Institute. Her research focuses on the business implications of ecosystem change, and how managing ecosystem services as strategic assets can improve corporate performance. She also convenes corporate partnerships to advance innovative business strategies that protect and restore ecosystems.

Prior to joining WRI, Suzanne worked at the Ecological Society of America and the University of Arkansas. Suzanne holds a B.A. in Environmental Science and Government from Lawrence University.

Blog Posts

The Amazon rainforest boasts incomparable biodiversity– home to one in 10 of all known species— and plays a vital role in regional water supply and global climate regulation. Yet, it is also a profitable working forest, benefitting both local businesses and international corporations.

Trying to reconcile the conservation and commercial roles of such biodiversity hotspots is no easy matter. But a group of multinational corporations— Anglo American, Danone, Grupo Maggi, PepsiCo, Natura, Vale, Votorantim, and Walmart— are attempting to do just that in Brazil.

Over the past decade, more companies have recognized the value that healthy ecosystems provide to business. Proactive companies have started managing their connection to ecosystems in order to avoid being blindsided by unexpected risks arising from the degradation of ecosystems.

Today, many managers want to know how ecosystem service considerations can be integrated into business performance systems. This issue is addressed in the World Resources Institute’s new report, Nature in Performance, a guide that helps business managers incorporate ecosystem service considerations into environmental management systems, sustainability reporting, and other performance systems.

The World Resources Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) are pleased to announce the release of the Corporate Ecosystem Services Review Version 2.0, an updated guidance document and set of resources to help business managers develop ecosystem-related strategies.

Companies depend on and impact the services that healthy ecosystems provide such as freshwater, wood, water purification, carbon sequestration, pollination and natural hazard protection. Degradation of these “ecosystem services,” therefore, can pose a number of risks to corporate performance, as well as create new business opportunities. Making the connection between the health of ecosystems and the business bottom line is essential – but how?

This piece originally appeared in the India Business Council for Sustainable Development quarterly magazine, Volume 8, Issue 2, in July 2011.

In August of 2010, the Indian electricity company Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVN) lost its source of power in Himachal Pradesh. Deforestation and river alterations upstream of the company’s dam had aggravated erosion in the area. Without the trees, heavy rains washed an unprecedented amount of sediment straight into the water, lowering dam reservoir capacity and power output. The resulting 22 days of closure for the facility left millions of people without power and cost the company upwards of $42 million, or INR. 198 Crore.

Representatives from over 60 organizations convened at the World Resources Institute on May 3 for the launch of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s (WBCSD) Guide to Corporate Ecosystem Valuation.

Publications

In this Issue Brief, we examine (1) how integrating ecosystem services into landscape management can increase the economic, environmental, and social values generated by managed landscapes for both private landowners and surrounding communities, and (2) how these considerations can be...

Integrating Ecosystem Services into Business Performance Systems

This report discusses ways in which companies can incorporate considerations of ecosystem services into business performance systems such as corporate strategy development procedures, product design guidelines, environmental impact assessments, and sustainability reporting.

The Ecosystem Services Review for Impact Assessment (ESR for IA) provides practical instructions to environmental and social practitioners on how to incorporate ecosystem services throughout environmental and social impact assessment.